Holder for rolls of bathroom tissue or the like

ABSTRACT

A holder for a roll of bathroom tissue or the like includes an open side container having a top downwardly directed stub shaft and a bottom upwardly directed conical stub shaft for holding a roll vertically therebetween. The upper shaft holds the top of the roll in upright position, and the space between the shafts permits the roll to be placed on and removed from the lower shaft. The lower shaft holds the bottom of the roll in a friction grip preventing accidental unwinding of the tissue.

United States Patent Robert E. Eckels 2101 Youngfield. Golden, Colo. 80401 87 5,7 30

Nov. 12, 1969 Nov. 30., 1971 lnventor Appl. No Filed Patented HOLDER FOR ROLLS OF BATHROOM TISSUE OR THE LIKE 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 242/5553, 242/5554 Int. Cl i i i i i.A47k 10/22, A47k l0/32 Field ofSearch 242/5553.

[56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,565,994 8/1951 Sevenich. 242/55 53 2,819,852 1/1958 Sarro 242/55 53 Primary Examiner-George F Mautz Auornev-Richard D. Law

PATENTED unvao IEIYI FIG. 2

INVENTOR ROBERT E. ECKELS HOLDER FOR ROLLS OF BATHROOM TISSUE OR THE LIKE Prior art holders for bathroom tissue generally use a shaft which extends through the tube on which bathroom tissue is wound, and the shaft is either held in horizontal or vertical positions. Most such holders make no attempt whatever to prevent accidental unrolling of the roll of tissue. The few that do attempt to prevent full unwinding retard the rotation of the shaft or prevent full rotation of the shaft. Where there is no restraint on the roll, in many instances a user will pull the tissue from the roll and the roll continues to unwind unless it is stopped by the user.

According to the present invention, I provide a holder which is very simply loaded and unloaded, and which maintains a friction grip on the tube of the bath tissue roll to prevent accidental unwinding when a portion of tissue is pulled from the roll. The unit includes an open-sided container, which is preferably recessed in the wall, and a pair of vertically juxtapositioned stub shafts. The upper of the stub shafts is longer than the bottom shaft, and the space between the two admits easy entry ofa roll by placing the roll over the upper shaft and moving it up to the top of the container, positioning the tube over the bottom shaft and letting the roll drop onto the bottom shaft. The bottom shaft is conical to support and grip the roll in a friction grip, to prevent rotation of the roll except when tissue is actually being pulled from the roll.

Included among the objects and advantages of the present invention is a holder for rolls of bathroom tissue which is simple, and is easily loaded and unloaded with rolls of tissue.

Another object to the invention is to provide a holder for rolls of bathroom tissue which uses spaced-apart stub shafts which are affixed to the holder, and tissue may be loaded or unloaded into the holder without a complete shaft passing through the tube of the roll.

Another object to the invention is to provide a holder for a roll of bathroom tissue which holds the roll in vertical position and provides a friction grip on the roll to prevent accidental unrolling of the tissue.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention may be readily ascertained by referring to the following descriptions wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofa holder for rolls of bathroom tissue according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the holder of FIG. 1, illustrating the positioning ofa roll of bath tissue therein; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the holder of FIG. I.

In the device illustrated, a container 10, having an openside 12, is provided with a mounting flange 14 extending peripherally around the opening 12 of the container. The body of the container is a semicircular portion 16 having an upper cover 18 and a lower cover 20 forming an openside container with a vertical extent which is greater than the axial length ofa standard roll of bathroom tissue. The container is arranged to be recessed in a wall 22, and the flange 14 provides means for securing the container to the wall. A downwardly directed retainer shaft 24 is secured to the top I8 and extends downwardly a short distance across the opening 12. The retainer has a rounded end 26, and is generally flat with its major dimension extending along the opening of the container. A lower conical shaft 30 is attached to the bottom 20 of the container and it extends a short distance up into the opening 12 of the container. The distance between the bottom of the upper retainer and a top of the conical stub shaft 30 is less than the axial length of a standard bathroom tissue roll, but it is sufficient so that a roll of bath tissue at an angle may be pushed up over the retainer shaft 24 and permitted to drop down onto the stub conical shaft 30.

The container and shafts are preferably made of rigid material such as metal, rigid plastic, or the like, and as is conventional with bathroom fixtures the metal units may be chrome plated, and the plastic units may be silvered as desired. The units, when made of metal, may be made of aluminum, sheet metal, white metal or the like which is suitably coated or plated for use in a bathroom.

In use, an opening is cut in a wall 22 sufficient to permit entry of the semicircular container portion with the flange extending over the wall hiding the opening cut therein. The container is retained in its position by means of screws or the like, either passing through the flange 14 or through holes in the container top and bottom. A roll of bathroom tissue is easily mounted in the device by tilting the roll and placing the top opening of the tube, for example, the tube 30 shown in FIG. 2, over the retainer 24 so that the roll 32 may be pushed up over the retainer to approximately the top of the container. The bottom of the roll 32 is then moved into the container in the space between the shafts so that the bottom opening of the tube in the roll of bathroom tissue may drop down onto the stub shaft 30. The tube impinges upon the arcuate wall of the stub shaft 30. The tube impinges upon the arcuate wall of the stub shaft 30 providing a friction fit of the tube on the stub shaft. The lower stub shaft is long enough to extend up into the tube holding the roll of bath tissue in upright position in the holder and preventing accidental displacement of the roll. The end of the roll of tissue may now be grasped and pulled, and when a sufficient amount of tissue is removed from the roll it may be torn from the roll. The tissue may be jerked but the roll will unwind only so long as pressure is exerted on the paper being removed from the roll. However, as soon as the tension on the paper is released the roll of tissue will stop turning due to the frictional grip of the tube on the lower stub shaft. In this manner, the paper will not accidentally unwind from the roll. The empty tube is easily removed from the holder by moving the tube up over the retainer 24, pulling the bottom out away from the lower stub shaft and then dropping it off from the retainer 24.

While the invention has been particularly described by reference to bathroom tissue, it is obvious that the holder may hold other types of paper in rolls. For example, changing the size of the roll holder permits the holding of paper kitchen towels, note paper in a roll, rolls of stamps, etc. Also, the holder need not be recessed in a wall, but may be merely attached to the wall, cabinet or the like.

I claim:

1. A holder for a roll of paper wrapped around a tube or the like comprising:

a. a container having an open side;

b. a first stub shaft fixedly mounted on one end of said container depending across the open side of said container and arranged to depend downwardly when mounted;

c. a conical stub shaft fixedly mounted on the opposite end of said container and extended upward toward said first stub shaft, there being a space there between to permit entry of a tilted roll of paper, to hold a roll of paper mounted on both said shafts;

d. said first downwardly directed stub shaft being sufficiently long to permit a roll of paper to be moved therealong into axial alignment therewith;

e. said conical stub shaft having a surface arranged to impinge on the tube of a roll of paper providing friction against rotation of a roll mounted in said holder; and

f. means for supporting said holder in upright position with said first stub shaft above said conical stub shaft.

2. A holder according to claim 1 wherein said container includes a semicircular body with upper and lower end covers, and said shafts depend from said end covers.

3. A holder according to claim I wherein said first shaft is substantially longer than said conical shaft.

4. A holder according to claim 1 wherein said first shaft is essentially flat, with its major lateral dimension extending across the open side of said container.

5. A holder according to claim 2 wherein said semicircular body is longer than a roll of tissue.

6. A holder according to claim 1 wherein said conical stub shaft is sufficiently long to extend into the inner tube ofa roll of tissue and its conical surface diverges from the end of said conical stub shaft. 

1. A holder for a roll of paper wrapped around a tube or the like comprising: a. a container having an open side; b. a first stub shaft fixedly mounted on one end of said container depending across the open side of said container and arranged to depend downwardly when mounted; c. a conical stub shaft fixedly mounted on the opposite end of said container and extended upward toward said first stub shaft, there being a space there between to permit entry of a tilted roll of paper, to hold a roll of paper mOunted on both said shafts; d. said first downwardly directed stub shaft being sufficiently long to permit a roll of paper to be moved therealong into axial alignment therewith; e. said conical stub shaft having a surface arranged to impinge on the tube of a roll of paper providing friction against rotation of a roll mounted in said holder; and f. means for supporting said holder in upright position with said first stub shaft above said conical stub shaft.
 2. A holder according to claim 1 wherein said container includes a semicircular body with upper and lower end covers, and said shafts depend from said end covers.
 3. A holder according to claim 1 wherein said first shaft is substantially longer than said conical shaft.
 4. A holder according to claim 1 wherein said first shaft is essentially flat, with its major lateral dimension extending across the open side of said container.
 5. A holder according to claim 2 wherein said semicircular body is longer than a roll of tissue.
 6. A holder according to claim 1 wherein said conical stub shaft is sufficiently long to extend into the inner tube of a roll of tissue and its conical surface diverges from the end of said conical stub shaft. 